Lynne Featherstone

Dawn's story:

My four year old son caught his finger in the door of some public toilets in Highgate last summer. It was a very bad cut and looked as if the bone had been crushed. Naturally, he was in agony and great distress and the finger was bleeding profusely. I was with our two other small children and we ran to the A and E at the Whittington and were soon reassured that no bone had been broken, there was no sign of likely infection and that the cut just needed gluing.  The thought of driving all three children to the Royal Free Hospital in the afternoon traffic (a journey that can easily take half an hour or more) makes me go cold.
I would probably have felt I had no choice but to call an ambulance. Such an action would put further strain on the ambulance/ emergency service surely?  I shudder to think of what could happen if any of my children (or indeed their mummy or daddy) needed prompt emergency attention to save their life....The Royal Free Hospital is too far; it is a disgrace for London residents to have to travel such a distance. We are living in a densely populated area, not in the Outer Hebrides....

Ben Somerskill and Stonewall sponsored by Village Drinks (network for Lesbian and Gay professionals) put on a hustings last night in the West End.

They do things really well. Well thought out. Well arranged. Well chaired. I think all the candidates did well and set out their stall - and the debate was interesting and the questions wide-ranging.

Chris Bryant represented Labour, Nick Herbert represented the Tories, Chris Smith the Greens - and obviously I was there for the LibDems.

The basic LibDem stall is that the clue is in our name - Liberal - through and through - and not just for elections. I started the campaign for the ban on gay men giving blood donations to be lifted. At first both Terence Higgins Trust and Stonewall declined to join me. However, Stonewall changed their position and have been campaigning too for this. The safety of the blood supply is paramount - but whether or not donations are given should be based on the risk from an individual's behaviour - not a blanket ban. Neither the Tories nor Labour supported my amendment.

Then, I raised the issue of the Government's intransigence during the Equality Bill and their refusal to change the protected characteristic of 'gender reassignment' to 'gender identity'.  Trans issues are very different to gay issues in substance - but the discrimination and harassment they suffer is of the order of the early days of gay liberation. Sometimes the gay community can be a bit cross and feel that trans get lumped in with gay issues - but the suffering and quest for equality and freedom from discrimination and harassment is the same.

Anyway - in the Bill, the Government displayed complete ignorance of transgender issues. They showed relentless and ill-informed determination to keep it as ‘gender reassignment. They seemingly did not understand or even wish to understand the complexities of the range of the spectrum of gender identity. They had no awareness that many, many trans people never change sex nor even ultimately pass for the other gender nor even go on that journey nor that some people are just intersex in some form and that those who have gender identity issues will experience discrimination and need protection because they don’t fit gender stereotypes at all.

Over the years of campaigning for LGBT equality, Liberal Democrats have always led the field. We were first to civil partnerships, first to fight for gays in the armed forces, now gay marriage and the introduction and duty for schools, all schools, to talk about sexual orientation openly and as just part of life.

And what a furore it caused when Nick Clegg said that there should be a duty to talk about homosexuality openly at school. But of course it should – as just another normal way of being. It is absolutely crucial.

Homophobic bullying is rife as am sure you know with 6 out 10 children homophobically bullied. Burgeoning sexuality can be pretty confusing at the best of times, but to suffer any bullying let alone homophobic bullying is cruel beyond belief. This is one of the areas where this Labour government has really failed the LGBT community. In the equality Bill homophobic bullying has a different level of protection to any of the other strands. There is a lower bar of harassment for example – for race, gender and religion. Only sexual orientation is left to the more difficult protection of simple direct discrimination. Homophobic bullying should have exactly the same protection as all other protected characteristics. End of.

I could go on - but suffice to say was a very good event and a very important agenda and a very enjoyable evening.

I secured a 90 minute in Parliament today on the Future of London Hospitals - obviously about the Whittington A&E, maternity and paediatrics.

I wanted to use this opportunity to really put the case to the Minister that the sweeping changes being proposed have no clinical evidence base and no business case. I demonstrated (for about half an hour) how there is no evidence of where or how 45,000 A&E patients who could not be handled by an alternative means would be cared for, nor any existing services in the community to deal with the 38,000 shoved from the A&E to Primary Care. Out of hours GPs are already a worse service in Haringey than the rest of London and there is no statistical data on polyclinics or urgent care centres to show that they could cope. There has been no work on access and up until now - no proper extensive quantative consultation.

The Minister in his wind-up was pretty clear that he did not think the case for the Whittington A&E to close had been made. I think the fact that this is Labour policy that is driving this - together with the benefit of the pressure from the coming election - has helped the Minister into this position - at least for now!

As soon as Hansard is published - I will paste up or link to the actual debate - as many Members made very good and robust arguments from all sides of the political divide.

Adrian's story:

I completely support the campaign to keep the A&E service going at the Whittington and have had three experiences:- 1. About 18 months ago I cut my foot badly at home (I live in Crouch End). My wife drove me to the Whittington, where I had a rapid first examination and assessment, before taking my place in the queue while more serious injuries were dealt with. Had the Whittington not been available, (and because of the amount of blood!), I would have had to call for an ambulance.
2. I have a stepbrother with Aspergers syndrome. About 2 1/2 years ago, at a time when he was self medicating, he became very concerned, and disturbed that he had taken too much medicine. He was able to take himself to the Whittington, who discussed the matter with him, to discover that in fact he had failed to take one particular set of medication. (When I went to pick him up, I was informed, tongue in cheek, that A&E was not the place for people who had underdosed!)

3. My 80 year old mother in law had a fall at home about 4 years ago, leaving her very bruised, shaken and distressed. We took her to the Whittington where she had a rapid first assessment, and was then kept for observation for about 4 hours. A more distant hospital would have need the services of an ambulance, and would have been considerably more distressing for her.

Michael's story:
A couple of years ago, actually late in the evening walking home to Avenue Road N6 from the Annual Meeting of the local residents' association CASCH, I tripped over a raised manhole cover in the pavement at the Coolhurst Road end of Avenue Road and fell flat on my face. Not a good thing to do at age (as I was then) nearly 70, and I split my chin open right to the bone and did various other forms of no good to my face. My wife drove me straight to A&E at the Whittington, where fortunately it seemed to be a fairly quiet night, and I was treated and patched up with much efficiency and goodwill within an hour of the mishap. It would have been much less convenient to have to go further afield, and as we get older it is actually a comfort that the A&E is so close.

Incidentally, I have had various treatments at the Whittington over nearly four decades, and I have been thoroughly satisfied with them all.

Very pleased that the following motion was passed at our conference this morning regrading the Digital Economy Bill. There was an excellent debate and at the end I was with just about everyone else in the hall in voting for it:

Conference notes with concern amendment 120a to the Digital Economy Bill which facilitates website-blocking for alleged copyright infringement and which was passed on 3 March 2010.

3.The creation of a level playing field between the traditional, copyright-based business model and alternative business models which may rely on personal copying and legal filesharing.

Naomi's story:

Many, many times have I been grateful for the quick and safe reactions of the staff of the Whittington A&E.

Just one story?

I run a group for mothers and babies nearby. One afternoon, a toddler knocked over a mug of very hot tea. His mother tried to comfort him, but he was obviously in pain. I suggested she hurry to the Whittington A&E, and said I'd come and meet her there after the meeting. When I got there, she was in a separate room with her son. A doctor arrived and dealt with the burn with an excellent cream and bandage. The toddler relaxed immediately she started to treat him. Small though he was, he could tell he was in good hands. The doctor explained exactly how the mother should dress the wound at home. She was efficient but human too. The mother is now applying to do voluntary work at the Whittington, and I have just been asked to give a reference for her.

Gillian's story:

In 2005 I became unwell and developed a high temperature. I wasn't well enough to go to the doctor and was prescribed antibiotics on a home visit from our local doctor on a Friday. Unfortunately I was extremely allergic to the drugs and was told on Saturday by Camidoc (phone call) to stop taking them if they were making me vomit. On Sunday I felt considerably worse and a Camidoc doctor visited and immediately called an ambulance. One of the side effects of my illness was that I remained rational and quite convincing that I was not as sick as I was. The ambulance arrived at A&E and they - without absolute proof but based on symptoms - began treating me for bacterial meningitis and pneumonia. Had they given me a lumbar puncture which is one way to prove the diagnosis, I would probably have died.

The pressure in my spinal column was dangerously high. Their swift action undoubtedly saved my life. I was in hospital for 2 months and all the specialists thought I was a walking miracle when I left. The credit was given by all the medical team to that first Doctor in A&E who saw me within 10 minutes of my arrival.

I would also write to say how critical the A&E has been to my elderly neighbour. Sheila W lived in Priory Gardens for over 50 years. Her husband was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, her son was epileptic and she herself had severe arthritis. During their lifetime, the Whittington were on hand for every emergency - and there were many. In recent years Sheila fell down a flight of stairs and broke her arm in three places. She phoned me for help and on arrival at A&E the staff were outstanding. She was fragile, old and very afraid. Her fear of painkillers was great because her stomach had been made vulnerable from other medications. They set up an intravenous drip of paracetamol for her which was wonderful - the salient point is that they did not need to resort to morphine or other high dependency drugs. The pain clinic work at the Whittington is outstanding and their policies are used in the A&E to enormous benefit.

Mary's story:

In October 2009, I became very ill at home because I was hemorrhaging from ulcers in my stomach and round the base of my windpipe. I did not know I had ulcers because I was in no pain: I simply felt extremely weak. My excellent GP, Dr Friedman came to see me at home and immediately sent me to Whittington A&E. The doctors there saw me at once and, after some preliminary investigations, transferred me to a diagnostic unit .It was found that my blood count was only 6.5 when it should have been 12. I was put in a ward very quickly and given 3 units of blood. Thanks to the excellent and very prompt treatment I received, I have made a full recovery.
Without the skilled treatment I received at Whittington's A&E I could easily have died as the hemorrhaging did not stop until some time after I was admitted to hospital. I am extremely grateful for the skilled treatment I received and think it essential that Whittington A&E remains open.

In the opposition day debate yesterday on London Hospitals - the Minister Mike O'Brien said this:

'I do not see any justification for closure of the A and E at this time, and I would want to hear the case for closing it during the next Parliament. I have seen no such case.'

Well neither have we! There is no case. There is no clinically led case. There is no evidence. However - not sure that stops the juggernaut of this travesty of a process.

Lynne Featherstone: I welcome the Minister's remarks because, as he knows, the socio-demographic circumstances around Whittington hospital make the area one of the most deprived in London. My concern is that, of the seven current options, four suggest closing the accident and emergency department. That seems to be a huge waste of resource and energy when the money is needed in front-line services. Will he talk to north central London officials now and stop the process?